It is common for glass to experience damage from objects impacting the surface of the glass, thereby causing not only surface damage but also subsurface damage. For example, a relatively small object, such as a stone or cinder, hitting a glass windshield can result in a small surface damage with most of the damage being subsurface. Colloquially, such damage is commonly referred to as a rock chip, a bull's eye or a star break. If untreated, such breaks and other breaks can result in a crack propagating through the glass and eventually the entire glass windshield may need to be replaced. However, if the break is timely treated there is a good possibility that the break may not result in propagating a crack, thus saving the windshield. In some instances, the majority of the damage from a break may manifest below the surface of the glass windshield and, consequently, repairing the break may be difficult.
Commonly, treating a break in glass may involve delivering a type of resin in liquid form into the break and allowing the resin to cure (i.e., harden). The resin may cure into a hardened structure within the break, thereby securing and sealing the break to prevent further damage to the glass. Various methods may be utilized to deliver the resin into the break.
For example, one method for treating a break in a glass involves placing a resin injection system onto the surface of the glass, where the resin injection system may be held in place on the glass by suction cups on the resin injection system. Once the resin injection system is in place, the resin injection system facilitates injection of the resin in liquid form into the break. Injection of the resin may be achieved by creating a vacuum in the break and subsequently injecting the resin into the resulting void in the break.
Once the resin is injected into the break thus filling the break, the resin may be cured to form a hardened structure within the break. Often times, curing the resin may involve exposing the resin to various types of lights such as ultra-violet (“UV”) light. A common method of exposing the resin to UV light involves a technician holding a lamp having a UV bulb and exposing the resin to the lamp. Exposing the resin to the UV lamp may involve periodically moving the lamp around the injection system. Often the resin injection system may be in place during the curing process to facilitate maximum filling of the break because the resin may reduce in volume as it cures. Removing the resin injection system prior to the curing process may result in voids in the break, thereby reducing the structural integrity of the glass. However, having the resin injection in place has some advantages.
For example, having the resin injection system in place during the curing process prevents substantially all of the resin being exposed to the lamp at one time. That is, as previously described, the lamp used to cure the resin is periodically moved around the injection system thereby exposing all portions of the resin to the lamp. Because all portions of the resin may not be exposed to the UV light at the same time the resin may not cure uniformly (i.e., some portions of the resin may receive more concentrated light than other portions of the resin for varying durations of time allowing potions of the resin to cure at different rates). Non-uniform curing of the resin may affect the overall structural integrity of the hardened resin in the break.
In the example of a glass windshield on a vehicle, even providing electrical power to the lamp for curing the resin may pose some difficulties. For example, lamps utilized to cure the resin may require specific types of electrical power, such as specific voltage. A common source of electrical power for a lamp is a battery included in the vehicle. In one implementation, a vehicle battery produces twelve volts direct current (“DC”), whereas another implementation may feature a battery (or multiple batteries) that produces twenty-four volts DC. Because these common sources of electrical power differ, a lamp configured to receive electrical power from the battery producing twelve volts DC may not receive electrical power from a battery (or multiple batteries) producing twenty-four volts DC.
It is also common for UV lamps used to cure resin in breaks to utilize fluorescent glass bulbs to produce the correct frequency of UV light to cure the resin in breaks. These glass bulbs are very fragile and may break in normal usage or when the technician needs to change the bulb during normal maintenance. This can be a problem due the cost of the replacement bulbs, the danger of harm from the sharp shards of broken glass, and the possible release of mercury from the broken fluorescent glass bulb.